Department for Business and Trade

Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the performance of Royal Mail against its universal service obligation; and what discussions they have had with Royal Mail about the effect of the current number of vacant posts in that organisation on its ability to fulfilthat obligation.

The Earl of Minto: It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s performance of its universal service obligations. In May, Ofcom announced it had opened an investigation into Royal Mail’s failure to meet its delivery targets for 2022/23. This will consider whether the reasons for its failure were within the company’s control or if there were exceptional factors to explain why it missed its targets. Ministers and officials meet Royal Mail in its capacity as the universal service provider however, as it is a private business, operational decisions, including staffing levels, are the direct responsibility of Royal Mail management.

Regional Planning and Development: EU Grants and Loans

Lord Wigley: To ask His Majesty's Government what sums were received from the EU for economic, social and regional regeneration projects in each year since 2015–16 under programmes agreed prior to the UK's exit from the EU by (1) Wales and (2) the UK.

The Earl of Minto: The UK’s participation in European Structural & Investment (ESI) Fund programmes (ERDF, ESF, EAFRD and EMFF 2014-2020) will conclude at the end of December 2023 in relation to commitments made before the end of the transition period. The UK is allocated and therefore due to receive a total of €16.4bn to be spent by 31 December 2023.Allocations under these programmes, including those for Wales, are set out in the EU Structural and Investment Funds: UK Partnership Agreement – Part 1, Sections 1 and 2 (Revised 31 January 2020) (attached Table 1.6).Structural and Investment Funds (pdf, 173.4KB)

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take when goods being transported to Northern Ireland which have been declared for the Green Laneare checked and are found not to qualify.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Trusted traders will face no routine physical checks on their goods moving in the green lane. These will be based purely on risk and intelligence. Where the systems in place to identify illicit movements find that goods are moved illegitimately, there will be a range of possible responses depending on the risks posed. This can include withdrawing access for the trader to the relevant scheme in cases where the scheme is being abused, and could include seizing or returning the goods (in the same way as would have been the case for goods posing particular risks before Brexit).

UNRWA: Finance

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to help prevent the potential suspension from September of all United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) services to registered Palestinian refugees, because of financial pressures on its budget; andwhat is their assessment of the capacity of otherUnited Nations agencies to sustain essential services.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is a longstanding supporter of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) voting to renew the agency's mandate until June 2026, providing essential humanitarian support to Palestinian refugees across its five zones of operation. Our annual contribution to their programme budget helps UNRWA provide education to over 533,000 children a year (half of them girls), and access to health services for 3.5 million Palestinian refugees. Given the impact of the global pandemic on the economy and public finances, the UK moved to a target of spending 0.5 per cent of GNI on Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2021. This was a difficult - but temporary - decision and the then Chancellor indicated during his budget speech on 27th October 2021 that the UK is currently on track to return to 0.7 per cent of GNI spend on ODA by financial year 2024/25. We are aware of UNRWA's immediate financial challenges and have pledged £10 million to UNRWA for this financial year. I, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon as The Minister of State for the Middle East, frequently raise UNRWA's financial situation with Middle East and North Africa regional partners at ministerial level, and the Minister of State for Development and Africa has also raised this with with Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of KSRelief at the Riyadh humanitarian forum in February. To that end, the UK government is working with UNRWA and other international donors to help ensure its continued financial viability.

Nagorno Karabakh

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with (1) international partners, and (2) the government of Azerbaijan, to encourage that country to lift its blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government has publicly highlighted the importance of re-opening the Lachin corridor and addressing related humanitarian issues, including at the United Nations Security Council in New York on 20 December 2022 and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna on 17 January and 27 April 2023. Minister Docherty visited Baku on 22-23 February to meet with senior representatives of the Azerbaijani government and called for the re-opening of the Lachin corridor in those meetings. Minister Docherty reiterated these messages when he hosted Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Bayramov in London for the 5th UK-Azerbaijan Strategic Dialogue on 20 June. We will continue to support constructive dialogue in further contact with the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments in the coming months.

Syria: Refugees

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consult the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on ways to prevent compulsory deportations of Syrians from Turkey and Lebanon.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are in regular contact with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the full range of issues relating to Syrian refugees in not just Turkey and Lebanon, but also across the region. Whilst we hope that Syrian refugees will ultimately be able to return home, we agree with the UN judgement that conditions in Syria do not currently allow this. The UK continues to work with UNHCR to ensure that any returns adhere to international standards and are safe, voluntary and dignified.

Kosovo: Politics and Government

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) recent moves by the EU to seek to resolve tensions in northern Kosovo, and (2) the response by the Prime Minister of Kosovo to those efforts.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are working actively with partners to de-escalate tensions in northern Kosovo, and to encourage a return to the EU-facilitated Dialogue aimed at securing a conclusive and sustainable normalisation agreement between Serbia and Kosovo. The Foreign Secretary emphasised this message to Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti and to Serbia Prime Minister Brnabic last month. We welcome Kosovo's agreement with the EU on next steps for de-escalation, as announced by Prime Minister Kurti on 12 July.

Iran: Detainees

Baroness Crawley: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise with thegovernment of Iran (1)the detention of lawyers defending Iranian protesters, and (2) the detention of 17 journalists, including Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, who first reported on Jina Mahsa Amini's death in custody.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Iran's human rights record is dire. The UN Fact Finding Mission's update to the Human Rights Council (HRC) on 5 July echoed our serious issues over the continued detention of protesters, lawyers and journalists, the ongoing wave of executions, and new legislation targeting women accused of breaching headscarf rules. We continue to work with our international partners to ensure the regime is held to account. That is why the UK initiated the joint statement of 5 July calling on Iran to end executions, which was signed by 54 countries. On 6 July we announced a further package of human rights sanctions, including on senior prison officials and on the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution (SCCR) - the body responsible for setting headscarf policies. Our annual Human Rights Report, published on 13 July, outlines our wide-ranging concern with the human rights situation in Iran and Iran remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. We continue to raise these and other human rights issues with Iran at all appropriate opportunities, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.

Iran: Human Rights

Baroness Crawley: To ask His Majesty's Government what plansthey have to raise with thegovernment of Iran the evidence gathered by the United NationsIndependent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Baroness Crawley: To ask His Majesty's Government whatdiscussions they intend to have with the government of Iran regardingthe executions, and threat of executions, of many of those connected to the protests that began in that country in September2022.

Baroness Crawley: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Iranian authorities about punishments for women and girls found in breach of provisions requiring the wearing of a headscarf.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Iran's human rights record is dire. The UN Fact Finding Mission's update to the Human Rights Council (HRC) on 5 July echoed our serious issues over the continued detention of protesters, lawyers and journalists, the ongoing wave of executions, and new legislation targeting women accused of breaching headscarf rules. We continue to work with our international partners to ensure the regime is held to account. That is why the UK initiated the joint statement of 5 July calling on Iran to end executions, which was signed by 54 countries. On 6 July we announced a further package of human rights sanctions, including on senior prison officials and on the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution (SCCR) - the body responsible for setting headscarf policies. Our annual Human Rights Report, published on 13 July, outlines our wide-ranging concern with the human rights situation in Iran and Iran remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. We continue to raise these and other human rights issues with Iran at all appropriate opportunities, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.

Middle East: Diplomatic Relations

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of therecent restoration of diplomatic relations between several Middle Eastern states.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We welcome the recent agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran if it leads to a de-escalation of tension. The onus is on Iran to honour its commitments. We also welcome the Abraham Accords as a historic milestone bringing us closer to the goal of shared prosperity and peace throughout the region. The UK is working with regional partners to ensure the Abraham Accords are an enduring success, and we continue to encourage other countries who have not yet normalised their relations with Israel to do so. We continue to support efforts to ensure normalisation also delivers benefits for the Palestinians.

Freight: Northern Ireland

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government whether freightcompanies are liable for carrying wrongly declared goodsinto and out of Northern Ireland; in particular, when a trader hasdeclared goods as originating from Great Britain when they are actually of a third country origin.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The traders who are members of the relevant scheme will be responsible for ensuring that they comply with its requirements. It is a commercial choice for the parties involved whether they make further contractual arrangements to manage liability.

Cabinet Office

Surveillance: China

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the BBC Panorama programme ‘Is China watching you?’, broadcast on 26 June; and what plans they have, if any, to bring forward further amendments to the Procurement Bill to address the dangers to national security and privacy identified in the Panorama documentary.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government introduced new measures ahead of the Commons Report stage to strengthen the Procurement Bill's provisions on national security. The Government will create a permanent National Security Unit for Procurement within the Cabinet Office which will play a vital role in minimising the risk of suppliers that pose a threat to national security, winning public contracts. Underpinning the Unit will be a new legislative duty on ministers to keep under review suppliers for investigation for potential debarment on national security grounds. The Government will also introduce new, mandatory debarments for specific types of contracts. The new clauses will enable Ministers to mandate that a supplier is excluded from specific types of contracts (for goods, works or services) where the supplier poses an unacceptable risk. We will lay before Parliament, within six months of Royal Assent, a timeline for the removal of any surveillance equipment provided by suppliers subject to the National Intelligence Law of China from sensitive sites. We will explicitly commit to remove the equipment from sites where the risk is most acute and ensure the Government can be held to account on its promises. Taken together, these measures ensure both that current equipment will be removed and that there will be stringent security mechanisms applying to any future contracts.

Surveillance: Biometrics

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they willrespond to the letter from Professor Fraser Sampson, Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, to the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office, concerning the ethical and security issues raised by surveillance camera technology.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the call fromProfessor Fraser Sampson, Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, for a review of public space surveillance.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 24 November 2022 (HCWS386), how they plan to implement the cessation of the deployment of visual surveillance equipment produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China onto sensitive sites.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of the conclusion of Professor Fraser Sampson that "the need for a review [of surveillance cameras] is supported by the evidenced risks”, and (2) whether the Paymaster Generalwill respond positively to the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s request for a meeting; and whether such a meeting can be held before the Procurement Bill is given further consideration in the House of Lords.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government which locations they believe to be 'sensitive sites' where surveillance cameras with links to the People’s Republic of China should not be located; how many such sites exist; and how many cameras are involved.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Cabinet Office has been working closely with government departments to implement the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s Written Ministerial Statement of 24 November 2022. I can confirm that departments have ceased the deployment of visual surveillance equipment produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People's Republic of China onto sensitive sites. The statement also asked departments to consider whether they should remove and replace such equipment where it is deployed on sensitive sites rather than awaiting any scheduled upgrades. As the Parliamentary Secretary confirmed in the other place, the Government will set out the timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment supplied by companies subject to the national intelligence law of China from such sites within six months of the Procurement Bill receiving Royal Assent. The Cabinet Office has been working closely with Departments on this and I can confirm that good progress has already been made. It is a longstanding Government policy that specific security arrangements regarding the Government estate, including any lists of sensitive sites and their locations, are withheld on security grounds. Security teams within government departments are responsible for identifying which of their locations are defined as sensitive against a common set of criteria. Since the Written Ministerial Statement, we have also been working at pace to prepare for the implementation of the Procurement Bill, when it finishes its Parliamentary steps. Our efforts have focused on the setting up of the new National Security Unit for Procurement, which will administer the new national security debarment and exclusion powers that the Bill will provide.The measures we have already taken on surveillance technology demonstrate that we will always put national security first and we will continue to keep risks such as this under close review. We will respond to the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s letter on public space surveillance in due course. The Cabinet Office continues to monitor Government policy in this area, and is currently engaging with the Commissioner on this topic.

Lord-Lieutenants: Middlesex

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to re-establishing the roles ofLord Lieutenant of Middlesex and Deputy LordLieutenant of Middlesex.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The allocation of Lieutenancies to counties was set out in the 1997 Lieutenancies Act and there are currently no proposals to amend it.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Veterinary Medicine

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Benyon on 13 July (HL9237),what is the process for members of the Veterinary Products Committee to question the Veterinary Medicines Directorate’s assessors following receipt of the assessment report; what criteria the Veterinary Medicines Directorate uses to determine whether any potential increased risks to (1) animal health, (2) public health, or (3) the environment, can be suitability mitigated; and what criteria the Veterinary Medicines Directorate uses to assess the potential benefits of allowing over-the-counter sale, especially when the non-prescription category is already established.

Lord Benyon: If a product is referred to the Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) for advice, the VPC will be provided with a briefing document. Relevant scientific assessors will attend the VPC meeting and respond to questions by VPC members as directed by the VPC Chair. Legislation and published guidance set out the information (including data, scientific studies and risk assessments) that applicants must provide for a new marketing authorisation or change to an existing marketing authorisation. Each part of the dossier is supplemented by a critical overall summary prepared by an appropriate scientific expert commissioned by the applicant. The VMD assess the data package against the same guidance. Every year a sample of VMD assessment reports is reviewed by the VPC to score the VMD’s assessment of the application against criteria in the areas of: quality, efficacy and target species safety, safety to the user and consumers, environmental safety and overall benefit risk. If a non-prescription category is already established, another product will normally be allowed to have the same distribution category provided it contains the same active substance, is the same pharmaceutical presentation, and for the same species. Should information become available at any stage post-authorisation that potentially impacts the benefit-risk balance, the VMD can review the marketing authorisation(s) and require changes and/or suspend a product (or group of products) to protect animal health, public health and the environment.

Food Supply and Prices

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown: To ask His Majesty's Government what additional measures they aretaking to protect consumers from inflated supermarket food prices; and what further assistance they will give to farmers to ensure food security.

Lord Benyon: Tackling inflation is this Government’s number one priority, with a plan to more than halve inflation this year, and we are monitoring all key agricultural commodities so that we can work with the food industry to address the challenges they face. Defra is taking action to maintain an efficient food supply chain by mitigating against any potential burdens or frictions which could otherwise drive up consumer food prices. We continue to use regular engagement to work with retailers and producers to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food, for example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures. Furthermore, on 16 May 2023, the Prime Minister and Defra Secretary met representatives from across the whole UK supply chain, from farm to fork, for a Summit on how the Government and industry can work together to support a thriving UK food industry. With regard to support for farmers, we are backing British farmers with £2.4 billion of investment per year. We recently updated our new schemes based on farmer feedback to make them easier to apply for, and to support tenant and upland farmers in particular. We recently increased payment rates for upland farmers. We are committed to ensuring payment rates mean as many farmers as possible can benefit from our offers. The Sustainable Farming Incentive focuses on supporting farmers to undertake activities to grow food while improving the environment and animal health and welfare. The Landscape Recovery scheme allows landowners and managers to take a more large-scale, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land. We have expanded and enhanced the existing Countryside Stewardship scheme. This has been simplified and improved this year to include wildlife, upland wood pasture and lowland peat offers, more efficient administration and fairer controls. Through Countryside Stewardship Plus we will pay farmers extra for taking coordinated action, working with neighbouring farms and landowners to support climate and nature aims. We are providing tailored business advice to all farmers, we have cut red tape and brought in a fairer enforcement regime. We have helped the sector access the seasonal labour they need, and we are looking closely at the Shropshire Review we commissioned to go further. We are reviewing supply chain fairness sector by sector and unlocking the opportunities of genetic technologies.

Farms: Renewable Energy

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what incentiveschemes exist to promote the uptake of renewables among British farmers.

Lord Benyon: Food production is the primary purpose of farming and we are backing British farmersdelivering long-term energy security with more renewables. At the No 10 Farm to Fork Summit, the Government committed to expand this year’s grant offer for farmers to fund investments in barn-top solar. This will first be available for cattle farmers wishing to install solar alongside wider upgrades to their calf housing as part of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Government have also announced the Farming Investment Fund, which supports farmers investing in technologies with improved energy-use efficiency and use of renewable energy, and have provided funding for the Farming Innovation Programme which offers support to industry-driven research into innovative technologies. Government is also exploring renewable energy sources such as capturing methane on farms for use as biogas and green fuels for farm machinery, supporting further research into innovative new technologies.

Pets: Theft

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byLord Benyon on 13 July (HL Deb col 1885), whether they intend to include cats at the outset of any proposed pet abduction offence.

Lord Benyon: We have listened carefully to views expressed on pet abduction during the passage of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill and we will take this feedback into consideration when delivering this measure.

Farms: Carbon Capture and Storage

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsupport exists for farmers who are not claimants of the Basic Payment Scheme and who want to plant hedges and trees for the purpose of carbon sequestration.

Lord Benyon: There are several options available for farmers who are not claimants of the Basic Payment Scheme. Under the Countryside Stewardship (CS) Scheme, we pay for the management of hedgerows by rotational cutting and leaving some hedgerows uncut (BE3) and capital grants to plant and restore hedgerows. This includes hedgerow laying, hedgerow cropping and hedgerow gapping up. We pay for actions to create woodland under CS and the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO). This includes capital grants which are required to create woodland, such as planting trees and allowing natural colonisation of trees. Producing woodland creation plans ensure all proposals for new woodland consider any impacts on existing biodiversity, landscape character, water, soil and the historic environment, and that local stakeholders have been consulted. Maintenance payments are also essential to support the establishment of young trees. Woodland creation maintenance payments currently exist across multiple schemes including CS, EWCO and the Tree Health Pilot. We plan to bring these together into a single offer when EWCO transitions into the Environmental Land Management schemes. For Woodland management, under CS, we pay for producing a woodland management plan, woodland improvement and restoring plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites. Farmers and land managers can also apply to get money for projects that support carbon sequestration via our Landscape Recovery Scheme.

Treasury

Public Sector: Pay

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the announcement by the Prime Minister on 13 July regarding increases to public sector pay, what are the Barnett consequentials for devolved nations of the UK as a result of that announcement.

Baroness Penn: The Government is accepting the headline pay recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies in full for 2023/24. This will be funded from within existing department budgets through a combination of greater efficiency and reprioritisation. It is for the devolved administrations to allocate their funding in devolved areas. A full breakdown of changes to devolved administrations’ block grants, including Barnett consequentials, is set out in the published Block Grant Transparency document.

Duty Free Allowances: Northern Ireland

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Penn on 12 July (HL9073), how enabling duty-free shopping between Northern Ireland and the EU would "undermine frictionless trade with the EU"; and why this is not the case in relation to trade between Great Britain and the EU.

Baroness Penn: Introducing duty free shopping between Northern Ireland and the EU (which includes the Republic of Ireland) would require implementing allowances for the movement of these goods, to stop the uncontrolled flow of tax-free goods into either Northern Ireland or the EU (including the Republic of Ireland). These allowances would require enforcement. Therefore, if this were to be implemented, controls on the movement of goods between NI and the Republic of Ireland would be required, contravening the shared ambitions of the UK, Ireland and the EU.By contrast, the movement of goods between the EU and Great Britain is subject to full third-country controls. This enables the enforcement of allowances for duty-free goods for passengers travelling into and out of Great Britain.

Business: Taxation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of existing tax-efficient schemes on (1) supporting small businesses, and (2) attracting investment.

Baroness Penn: There are a number of schemes which aim to support investment into small businesses. In particular, the tax-advantaged venture capital (VC) schemes provide a range of generous tax reliefs to incentivise individuals to invest in small and growing companies. The VC schemes are currently being evaluated under the criteria set out in the published list of HMRC planned evaluation publications. Part of the research element of these evaluations is designed to understand the impact of the schemes in meeting their objectives. The evaluations will be published according to HMRC’s usual process, as part of the commitment to publish all commissioned research. The Government keeps all tax reliefs under review to ensure they continue to meet their policy objectives in a way that is fair and effective.

Renewable Fuels: Tax Allowances

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the tax incentives offered by (1) Czechia, (2) Latvia, (3) Luxembourg, and (4) Sweden, to support the further rollout of renewable biofuels, such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO); and what plans they have to introduce similar incentives in the UK.

Baroness Penn: Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is taxed at the same rate as diesel and required to be marked if used for an allowed purpose. The Government is aware that other countries use tax incentives to increase the uptake of HVO, but differences between tax systems make direct comparison difficult. The UK Government encourages the use of HVO through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), which incentivises the use of low carbon fuels and reduces emissions from fuel supplied for use in transport and non-road mobile machinery. The RTFO has been highly successful in supporting a market for renewable fuel since its introduction in 2008. In addition, the forthcoming Biomass Strategy will review the amount of sustainable biomass available to the UK, including liquid biofuels such as HVO, and how this could be best used across the economy to achieve our net zero target. It is important to ensure that biomass is prioritised within the economy where it offers the greatest opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in ‘hard to abate’ sectors where there are fewer options to decarbonise through alternative low carbon technologies. The Government keeps all taxes under review.

Public Sector: Northern Ireland

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provideadditional funding under the Barnett consequentials to fund public sector pay awards in Northern Ireland, reflecting those offered to public sector workers in England and Wales.

Baroness Penn: The Government is accepting the headline pay recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies in full for 2023/24. This will be funded from within existing department budgets through a combination of greater efficiency and reprioritisation. The Northern Ireland Executive are well funded to deliver all their devolved responsibilities, receiving at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the UK. As the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council acknowledges, Northern Ireland is receiving the funding it needs. Spending Review 2021 also set the largest annual block grants, in real terms, of any spending review settlement since the devolution Acts. This provided £15 billion per year for the Northern Ireland Executive. A full breakdown of changes to devolved administrations’ block grants, including Barnett consequentials, is set out in the published Block Grant Transparency document.

Department of Health and Social Care

Continuing Care: Finance

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether direct and third-party payment Personal Healthcare Budgets for Continuing Healthcare are available to all those that need them; and what steps they are taking to ensure that NHS England providesuch support when appropriate.

Lord Markham: The Government has not made an assessment of whether personal health budgets are available to people receiving National Health Service Continuing Healthcare (CHC) that need them. Operational delivery of CHC is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) with oversight from NHS England. Quarterly performance data is used by regional NHS England teams to inform ICB assurance. Legislation requires ICBs to provide people eligible for CHC with information about personal health budgets, to offer them the option of taking them up, and to support them to do so. NHS England expects that, unless there are exceptional circumstances, everyone living in their own home who is in receipt of CHC funding will have a personal health budget. In 2022/23, approximately 30,000 individuals eligible for CHC were in receipt of a personal health budget.

Social Services

Lord Turnberg: To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria social service departments use to assess the (1) need, and (2) means, of applicants for social care.

Lord Turnberg: To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications for social care have been assessed for need and have been funded after having been means tested in each of the past 10 years.

Lord Markham: Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authorities in making their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014. Eligible needs are those which relate to, for example, maintaining personal hygiene and nutrition, and maintaining and developing relationships, and which significantly impact on the adult’s wellbeing. Full details of the eligibility requirements can be found in The Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2014. We do not currently hold data on how many applications for social care have been assessed for need. Through a new data collection, Client Level Data, we are beginning to collect event-level information from local authorities on adult social care activity. This will include records of assessment of eligible needs and the funding status of local authority-commissioned services. To assess means, local authorities must follow The Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and have regard to the Care and Support Statutory (CASS) guidance. The responsibility for interpreting and applying the Regulations and the CASS guidance rests with local authorities. Whether or not a person qualifies for any financial support towards their care costs depends on their capital assets as follows: anyone who has above the upper capital limit of £23,250 is expected to meet the full cost of their care; anyone who has below the lower capital limit of £14,250 pays what they can afford from income only; and anyone between the above two limits pays what they can afford from income plus a contribution from their assets. A means-tested contribution from assets is determined by tariff income, which assumes that a person can afford to pay £1 per week for every £250 of assets between the limits. In 2021/22 there were almost 1,978,550 requests for support from new clients received by local authorities. Data on the funding of means testing done in the past 10 years is not held centrally.

Maternity Services: Standards

Baroness Gohir: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the annual assessment by the Care Quality CommissionState of Care 2021/22, published on 21 October 2022 and updated on 30 June, what steps they are taking to improve maternity services rated as inadequate or requiring improvement; and what is their timetable for making those improvements.

Lord Markham: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has launched a maternity inspection programme to help trusts to take targeted action where improvements are needed. As part of this programme, CQC will inspect all National Health Service acute hospital maternity services that they have not inspected and rated since April 2021. The programme is designed to show how services are responding to current challenges and determine what extra help they may need, and to give hospitals an objective assessment of what they are doing well and how they can improve. It also aims to give women and their families an up-to-date view of the quality of maternity care at their local hospital trust. Through this programme, CQC will be able to better understand what is working well to share good practice to help services learn and improve, and to show where there needs to be national action to combat the challenges services face. CQC is working alongside NHS England, who take the lead on driving improvements to maternity services, to ensure people using NHS maternity services across the country receive good, safe care during pregnancy, labour and postnatally. The maternity programme is ongoing and will complete once all relevant maternity services have been inspected.

Maternity Services: Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

Baroness Gohir: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by Donna OckendenFindings, Conclusions and Essential Actions from the Independent Review of Maternity Services at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, published on 30 March 2022, why they have rejected the recommendation contained in that report toincrease the annual budget for maternity services.

Lord Markham: The Government accepted all the recommendations made in Donna Ockenden’s report following the Independent Review of Maternity Services at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.£165 million of recurring investment has been added to the annual maternity budget since 2021 to grow and support the maternity workforce and improve neonatal care. We continue to keep further funding under review.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Trading Standards

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any decrease in the number of trading standards officers since 2016; and what funding they will provide to local authorities to enable them effectively to enforce existing legislation in the purview of the trading standards.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: I refer the noble Lady to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Local Government and Building Safety) comments on Trading Standards: Staffing and Resources at HC volume 728, debated on Monday 20 February 2023.

Energy: Housing

Lord Wigley: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish a table showing, for the most recent period for which figures are available, the 15 local authorities with the lowest percentage of dwellings which have an EPC energy efficiency rating of 'C' or above.

Lord Wigley: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish a table showing the number of homes assessed by their energy efficiency scheme in each of the past 10 years and the total cost of that scheme in each of those years.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Data tables showing numbers of energy certificates lodged on the Energy Performance of Buildings Registers and energy efficiency ratings are published online here. The tables were last updated on 27 April 2023.Local authority level data on Energy Performance certificates is published and available from the Open Data Community.The Energy Performance of Buildings Register ('the scheme') runs on a cost neutral basis. Energy performance of buildings certificates (pdf, 123.8KB)Energy performance of buildings data (pdf, 323.6KB)

Home Office

Drugs: Misuse

Lord Butler of Brockwell: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter from the then Minister of State at the Home Office to the Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, dated 30 September 2022, what is the reason for the delay in making the regulatory changes to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, with particular reference to the prescribing of controlled drugs by paramedic independent prescribers.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Government responded to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) on 3 October 2022 about paramedic independent prescribers. As the letter indicates, the Government intends to legislate to enable prescribing of controlled drugs by paramedic independent prescribers alongside other changes relating to use of controlled drugs in healthcare by podiatrists, therapeutic radiographer independent prescribers, and those acting under Patient Group Directions. We will bring forward legislation as soon as possible, but this will remain subject to Parliamentary procedure.

Fires

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the article by Dr Gareth ClaySpreading like wildfire: the need for a UK Fire Danger Rating System (FDRS),published by theUniversity of Manchester on 26 June; and what plans they have to introduce such a system.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office works across Government with a wide range of stakeholders including the National Fire Chiefs Council, England and Wales Wildfire Forum and other Departments and Agencies including DEFRA and the Met Office to promote planning and prevention for wildfire incidents in England.The government is aware of the work to which you refer [“Toward a UK Fire Danger Rating System”]. The government would welcome seeing the full outputs from the research in due course which will help inform any future plans.

Animal Experiments

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of non-technical summaries of research projects involving animal testing.

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a public database containing non-technical summaries of research projects involving testing on animals.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Guidance on completing the non-technical summary, in accordance with the legislation, is published at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-research-technical-advice#guidance-notes-for-project-licence-applications. The non-technical summaries provided by project licence applicants are assessed by Inspectors in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) against the published guidance before issuing a granted licence.ASRU has no plans to introduce a non-technical summaries database. All non-technical summaries are made available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit#non-technical-summaries. The Home Office seeks to continually improve their standard and publication accessibility through stakeholder engagement.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Senior Civil Servants

Lord Blunkett: To ask His Majesty's Government how many senior civil servants working at the Department for Education have a teaching qualification.

Baroness Barran: The information is not readily available or held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Schools: Ethnic Groups

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofthe number of schools with codes on hairstyles that adversely affect school participationamong students from ethnic-minority backgrounds; and what plans they have to ensure that all such codes are abolished.

Baroness Barran: Every school in England has existing legal obligations not to discriminate unlawfully on the grounds of a protected characteristic. It is for the governing board of a school to decide whether there should be a school uniform policy and if so, what it should be.The department has not made an assessment of the number of schools with codes on hairstyles.The department has published non statutory guidance to help schools to consider their equalities responsibilities in relation to uniform policies. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform/school-uniforms.In addition, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, with support from the Race Disparity Unit in the Cabinet Office, have produced guidance, which can be found here: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/preventing-hair-discrimination-schools.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

National Grid: Renewable Energy

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of delays in connecting solar farms and wind turbines to the national grid; and what steps they are taking to accelerate this process.

Lord Callanan: Years of world-leading green investment has meant network operators have experienced record demand for connections to the electricity network. We have increased the amount of renewable energy connected to the grid more than sixfold since 2010. Government is working with Ofgem and network companies to release capacity and improve the connections process, to accelerate connections. Actions already underway by network companies are expected to see a reduction in transmission connection timescales of 2-10 years, for the majority of existing projects. Building on this work, the Government and Ofgem will publish a joint action plan on accelerating connections this summer.

Renewable Fuels

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support renewable fuel producers to scale up the domestic production of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) in UK-based refineries.

Lord Callanan: Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is one type of biofuel that offers a lower carbon alternative to fossil diesel. As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government will prioritise its use in sectors that offer the greatest opportunity to reduce emissions, and where there are fewest options to decarbonise through alternative low carbon technologies. HVO used in transport has been eligible for support under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme for more than a decade. In 2021, 63 million litres of HVO was supplied under the RTFO in the UK.

Oil: Russia

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have in place to ensure oil produced in Russia does not enter UK fuel supplies via crude oil imports from other countries.

Lord Callanan: The import, acquisition, supply and delivery of Russian oil and oil products into the UK has been banned since 5 December 2022. The ban uses the well-established non-preferential rules of origin under which products are regarded as originating from a country if there has been substantial, and economically justified, processing in that jurisdiction. All importers of oil and oil products into the UK must provide proof of origin to demonstrate that goods are not of Russian origin to enforcement authorities.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote research on the types and extent of financial harms experienced by people who gamble.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: While millions of people gamble without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences. His Majesty’s Government recognises the importance of continuing to collect data, evidence, and research into the types of harms experienced by problem gamblers.The Gambling Commission is undertaking a project to improve the way it collects data on adult gambling participation and the incidence, nature, and severity of harm experienced as a result of gambling, whether one’s own or someone else’s. This will inform the new Gambling Survey for Great Britain, which the Commission aims to launch this year. This will support future research and provide decision-makers with a strong evidence base.The Government will introduce a statutory levy, part of which will be dedicated to funding research to help improve the evidence base on gambling. A consultation on the levy will be published later this summer.Our Gambling Act review White Paper also committed to working with UK Research & Innovation to stimulate interest in gambling as a research field among researchers across a range of academic disciplines.

Gambling

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of a national self-exclusion register for problem gamblers.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Gambling businesses are required to have their own self-exclusion arrangements in place so customers can self-exclude from individual operators. They are also required to participate in Multi-Operator Self-Exclusion Schemes, which allow a customer to make a single request to self-exclude from a licensed gambling sector, either nationally or on a local basis. Further information about each of the schemes can be found on the Commission’s website. Nearly 400,000 consumers have used GAMSTOP to self-exclude from all online gambling licensed by the Commission.The Commission works closely with the schemes, including hosting a regular Self-Exclusion Scheme Owners Group meeting which is chaired by GAMSTOP. The group works together to improve effectiveness and is currently working on making it easier for consumers to access information and self-exclude across sectors in one place.

England and Wales Cricket Board

Lord Framlingham: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the English Cricket Board’s intention not to schedule matches at Old Trafford in Lancashire and Headingly in Yorkshire as part of the next Ashes series held in this country; and what steps, if any, they will take to persuade the ECB to reverse this decision.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The hosting of Ashes test matches is a matter for the ECB as the governing body for cricket in England and Wales.His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting the hosting of sporting events across the UK and encourages all event organisers to consider not only the economic benefits that their events will generate, but also the wider social benefits they will bring such as volunteering, community engagement, and physical and mental wellbeing.

Community Health Fund: Public Consultation

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to launch their technical consultation on the Community Health Fund; and how long this consultation will be open for submissions.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: His Majesty’s Government has recently announced that community wealth funds will become the fourth cause for dormant assets funding in England.A community wealth fund will provide funding sources to local communities, with spending decisions made by local residents about how to improve their communities. The Government will soon launch a technical consultation on the design of this important new initiative and welcomes views on how best to ensure its long-term impact; the consultation will be open for 12 weeks.Secondary legislation to enable dormant assets funding to be directed to community wealth funds will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Sports Competitors: Hyperandrogenism

Lord Moynihan: To ask His Majesty's Government whatdiscussions they have had withgoverning bodies of sports on the inclusion of hyperandrogenous athletes in national and international competitions.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: It is for domestic national governing bodies of individual sports to determine their own rules regarding the eligibility of athletes, including hyperandrogenous athletes, to compete in the UK.Similarly, all sports which compete internationally must comply with their international federation rules at that level, with the rules determined by the relevant international federation.

Department for Transport

Railway Stations: Cambridge

Lord Balfe: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Greater Anglia Railways about planned ticket office closures at Cambridge railway station; and what opportunities there are for (1) the public, and (2) parliamentarians, to express their views on the proposals.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: To propose any changes to the opening hours, or the closure of ticket offices, train operating companies must follow the process set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. Train operators must consult on any proposed changes, advertising them at the relevant stations and inviting members of the public who wish to comment on the proposal to write to the relevant passenger body (either Transport Focus or London TravelWatch) within a 21-day period. Greater Anglia Railways has set out its proposals on its website. Parliamentarians are encouraged to raise any concerns with the relevant Passenger Bodies through the established consultation process. Further detail of how to do this can be found on station posters or on the Train Operating Company websites.

Railways: Tickets

Baroness Grey-Thompson: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that public consultations on railway ticket office closures will be accessible for disabled people.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of passengers who are disabled, and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. Under the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement process, train operators are required to put notices at stations advising passengers of any proposals and what changes could mean for them. Train operators have also made information relating to their consultations available on their websites. We would expect train operating companies to make sure their consultations are accessible.